Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is considered offensive. As a type of

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...

, Rastus is meant to portray ignorance and foolishness. Similar images have appeared in advertising, prominently as the mascot for ''

Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina (food), farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat berry, wheat kernels instead of gr ...

'', which prompted objections from activists.

History

''Rastus'' has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his t ...

included a black deacon named "Brer Rastus" in the first

Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post–Reconstruction era Atlant ...

book. However, Rastus (a shortening of Erastus, the Greek name of, especially,

Erastus of Corinth Erastus of Corinth (, ''Erastos''), also known as Erastus of Paneas, held the political office of steward (, ''oikonomos''), in Corinth, according to the Epistle to the Romans 16:23 of the New Testament. The office is defined as "the manager o ...

) has never been particularly popular as a black name. For example, the 1870 census reported only 42 individuals named Rastus in the United States, of whom only four were Black or

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

. Rastus—as a stereotypically happy black man, not as a particular person—became a familiar character in

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

s. This is documented in ''Every Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy'' by Jim Comer, in fiction such as ''Adventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown'' (1906) and ''Rastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce'', in popular songs such as ''Rastus, Take Me Back'' (1909) and ''(Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes 'Round'' (1905), on radio, and in films, most notably the 1908–1917 ''Rastus'' series of short films, with titles that included ''How Rastus Got His Chicken'' and ''Rastus Runs Amuck''. Rastus is also the name of the African-American character who first appeared on packages of

cereal in 1893 and whose image remained the Cream of Wheat trademark until the 1920s, when it was replaced by a purported photograph of Frank L. White, a Chicago chef wearing a chef's hat and jacket; White claimed to have been the subject of the photograph used to make the image, but his name was never formally recorded. The food manufacturer announced in June 2020 that it was reviewing the packaging after concerns the chef character might perpetuate racist stereotypes. Cream of Wheat abandoned any human imagery on their packaging in late 2020 in response to concerns the chef's image perpetuated racist stereotypes.

Li'l Rastus Ulysses Simon Harrison (born ), known as Li'l Rastus and Rastus Simon, was an African American teenager who served as a mascot of the Detroit Tigers baseball team from 1908 to 1910. Tigers mascot In the early 1900s, it was not unusual for Maj ...

was the nickname of an African American youth employed as a mascot by the Detroit Tigers from 1908 to 1910.

Ralph McGill Ralph Emerson McGill (February 5, 1898 – February 3, 1969) was an American journalist and editorialist. An anti-segregationist editor, he published the ''Atlanta Constitution'' newspaper. He was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Ju ...

, a staunchly anti-segregationist publisher and columnist for the ''Atlanta Constitution'', was subjected to harassing telephone calls at home from racists asking for "Rastus" McGill.

Filmography

*''Rastus Runs Amuck'' *''How Rastus Got His Chicken'' * ''

How Rastus Gets His Turkey ''How Rastus Gets His Turkey'' is a 1910 slapstick comedy silent film directed by Theodore Wharton. The film stars Billy Quirk (in blackface), Edward José and Octavia Handworth. The movie was written by José and produced and released by Pathé, ...

'' *''Rastus Among the Zulus'', extant short *''Rastus Knew It Wasn't'' (1914) Some promotional materials for

Larry Semon Lawrence Semon (February 9, 1889 – October 8, 1928) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working ...

's ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' (1925) identified the black farmhand Snowball as Rastus.David L. Greene and

Dick Martin Thomas Richard Martin (January 30, 1922 – May 24, 2008) was an American comedian and director. He was known for his role as the co-host (and comic foil of Dan Rowan) of the sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 197 ...

. The Oz Scrapbook. 1976.

Theater

*'' Broadway Rastus

References

External links

Connotations of the Names Rastus and Liza
An analysis from outside the U.S., from the Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere, Finland
blackface
From the personal website of william wu

From The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia * From The Museum of Public Relations
Collection of mid-twentieth century adverting featuring Rastus
from The TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design.
How Rastus Got His Turkey
(1910), Short film, Times Review.
Rastus Among the Zulus
(1913), Short film, fro
The Internet Movie Database

Rastus Runs Amuck
(1917), Short film, fro
The Internet Movie Database
{{African American caricatures and stereotypes Food advertising characters Male characters in advertising Stereotypes of African Americans Anti-African and anti-black slurs Mascots introduced in 1893 Race-related controversies in advertising and marketing

History

Filmography

Theater

See also

References

External links